The Defiant
by Rujia Ar'Rhukai
Summary: Three of the Animorphs try to have a bit of fun (for once). Unfortunately, these kids are a magnet for trouble, and they stumble across something thought impossible- a girl with the ability to resist infestation. And the Yeerks are busy again...
1. Chapter One

_Helloooooo, oh-Readers-of-Animorphs! Name's Ruji, and this be mah firstest ever fanfiction... for anything. Oo See, I've been of the belief that if it isn't YOURS, you don't get any benefit, so I've written my own stories for years now. But Animorphs... shakes head The little sucker drew me in. I just felt compelled to compose my OWN little story on the frightening Earth KA Applegate created._

_-quits making speech-_

_Ahem. Please read, and enjoy: Comments greatly appreciated!_

_I do not own Animorphs. If I did, Marco would be my love slave._

_Joking, really._

**Chapter One**

Hey.

Name's Marco.

'Sup.

Whassat? You want my whole name, and my number, too? Of course you do. I can't beat you ladies off with a stick.

Unless my manliness and extreme adorability isn't your reasoning.

See, this is what weird junk does to you. At one point in my life, I would have been delighted to give you my full name, my number, my address, my e-mail, my shoe-size, and the color of my boxers. Because I'm a nice guy like that.

But that was at one point.

Since then, I've visited many, many points I wish I'd never been.

Okay, I can see it in your eyes. My attractiveness is being negated by my apparent lunacy. I wish I _were_ crazy, that none of this was real, that I could wake up in my old bed to the sound of my mom's voice ordering me to school, her laughter as Dad kissed her on the cheek before he left for work…

Sorry. Bit of nostalgia there.

No more bush-beating, I'm getting to the point now.

Earth is under attack.

By aliens.

Yes, I said aliens.

At which point, out comes your handy-dandy tranquilizer to put the raving-but-sexy madman in front of you out of his misery.

You might think I'm nuts. Insane. Whacko. Off-my-rocker. Sadly, I am not. See, here's the deal. On a night that seems _very _long ago, I made a stupid decision that changed my life. And the lives of four other people. You better be grateful our lives got transformed, though, or you and I would be in some deep ca-ca, pardon my French.

Okay, you're saying. Let's imagine for two seconds you _aren't _insane. So the world is being invaded. By aliens. Where _are_ these aliens, then? I haven't noticed any little green men running around zapping people.

Ooh-hoo, we'd be lucky if our only trouble were little green men. The real aliens are much worse than that. They're not into the whole take-over-the-world-by-force deal. Nope, they're simply slowly infiltrating every nook and cranny of the human population. These aliens aren't after our land, our resources.

They want you.

Wave your arm. They want that. Blink your eyes. They want that.

These aliens are called Yeerks. They're parasites. They have the unique ability to take over your brain and body. To make your soul, your mind, everything that _is _you, a prisoner in your own head. They look harmless, like slugs, but that slug can slither into your ear, flatten itself out and seep deep into your brain if you give them half a chance. They can read your memories like a book; they learn how to act just like you. You'd think that someone would notice you aren't you anymore, but the Yeerk is the master of instrumentation, and your brain is the instrument. And all you can do is watch as they move your fingers, as they draw your lips apart to smile, as they wrap your arms around your little sister in a pseudo-loving hug.

And they're here on Earth, slowly taking host after host after host. Known as "Controllers" when they're in a host. They could be anyone- your teacher, your best friend, your significant other, or even your mother.

Believe me. I know.

Now you're despairing. What hope is there against such a terrible, invisible threat that no one knows about?

This is where I come in.

Have no fear, Marco the Animorph is here.

Yep, Animorph. Animal-morpher. I came up with the name. My wit amazes me to no end. But what does it mean, you wonder? Thankfully I am also brilliant and can supply you with this information.

We, the Animorphs, can become any animal we touch. We have the DNA of fierce beasts, winged birds, and even aliens in our blood. We use this power, given to us so strangely, to protect you and everything you live for.

I am one of the few Animorphs on the planet. We are the anti-Yeerk force. We fight for you, your sister, your father, every human and living thing on this lovely little spot known as Earth.

Few, yes. There are countless millions of Yeerks coming to earth every day, and you wanna know how many of us as here to fight them?

Six. _Six._ Six measly kids. Though we're far from normal.

There's Jake. He's our leader. Not sure where that happened. He just is. That kinda person who always seems to know what to do. He's confident, calm, thoughtful. Tall, thickly built, brown hair and eyes. Strong silent type. My exact opposite. My best friend. He'd be lost without me, really.

Then there's Rachel, Jake's cousin. Xena, live and at large. Rachel is a gorgeous chick with long blonde hair and piercing eyes. To be frank, she's hot. If she even hears me thinking that, though, I might be abruptly a few limbs less. Rachel may appear to be the epitome of pretty-stupid blonde-dom, but beneath that lovely exterior is a demon of ruthlessness. Rachel is a fighter. A warrior, cheesy as that sounds. She charges head-long into everything we do, with gusto. And relish. She's obviously crazy. She also is one of the few women able to resist my charm. Go figure.

Then we've got Cassie. Cassie is about the sweetest, nicest, animal-lovingest, hippy-est person you'll ever know. If you can get past the doody-covered boots and the syringe that's likely to be in her hand, she's a pretty cool girl. She's our main source of animal-age, what with living on a farm and all. Cassie's black, with short hair that she claims is easier to take care of, with eyes like melted chocolate. I'm not so much one for her do-goodyness most of the time, but my main man Jake is. If you catch my meaning. They can be rather disgusting at times, really.

Okay, moving into the stranger two of our group.

Tobias, AKA Bird-Boy. Tobias is… Tobias is the closest thing we've come to a casualty. He's… well, he's… a hawk. A hawk with the ability to morph. Long freaking story.

Anyway, he used to be this kinda wussy kid with an inferiority complex and a head just the right size for the toilet bowl. Jake put a stop to that, and Tobias had happened to be there when… when the thing happened. Then he got all cocky on a mission and got stuck in hawk-morph. However, due to some semi-divine intervention, he was granted the ability to morph again, even to his old human body. But he lives as a red-tailed hawk now, eating rats and stuff, and is much less wussy. The sad part is, I think he's happier that way. As a hawk, I mean, not less wussy. Though I think he might be happier less wussy, too.

And what's a party without an alien? Ours is a blue four-eyed centaur with a butcher's knife grafted to his tail, not to mention with a brain the size of Texas and possibly a small portion of Mexico. Yep, that's Ax, our resident Andalite, little brother of Prince Elfangor. He's a good guy, despite his occasional arrogance. Lost little kid, like the rest of us. Though I'm thinking he's got some conflicting loyalty issues he needs to work out. Ax spends most of his time running around in the woods behind Cassie's house or morphing human and stuffing his face with any variety of strange inedible objects.

And last, but most certainly not least, is… me.

Marco who's-last-name-you-will-never-know.

Marco the wonderful, the magnificent, the spectacular.

Marco the suave, the handsome, the girl magnet.

Marco of the sexy brown eyes, of the thick dark hair, of the perfect tan, of the-

"How's the weather in Munchkin-Ville, Marco?"

I turned my head haughtily in Rachel's direction. "My height does not make me less of a person, Rachel," I said, making sure to sound hurt.

((Technically, yes it does.))

"No one was talking to you, mister eavesdropping-Bird-Boy."

Tobias swooped low overhead, blotting out the warm sun for a moment, before gaining altitude once more with a few flaps of his brown wings. ((Free country, Marco. My two cents are permitted.))

"I'd say they're a bit overpriced," I replied smoothly.

Aha, yes. I am the master.

"I'd say your wit is _more_ than a bit underrated." Rachel piped, swinging her fist playfully, not to mention easily, over my head.

Ooh, ouch. Zing.

I feigned ignorance. "I will remind you both that we are on a mission here."

"Some mission," Rachel muttered, tilting her head up to glare malevolently at some innocently passing fluffy clouds. "No destruction at all, Yeerk or otherwise."

"Tobias could go naked," I suggested helpfully.

Rachel stopped to have a good long look at me.

((He's got a point, really. I am normally anyway.)) I could hear the teasing grin in Tobias's thought-speak voice. He dropped for a moment above us again, then flitted away.

"Heeey, Bird-man! I didn't know you could make a funny!" I raised my hand as though to high-five, then hastily dropped it. "You know what, never mind. I like having all my fingers."

Mighty Rachel flushed slightly. "You both are hilarious," She muttered, and kicked a rock on the sidewalk in front of us. Hard.

It flew away and pinged into a metal trashcan, leaving a neat round dent. I appraised it. Tobias did as well, from his fifty-foot vantage point.

((I'm never making _you_ angry.))

"Did you ever consider football as a career, Xena? That'd be a heckuhva kick-off there."

"Do they make balls that look like your head?"

Yes, we were on a mission. Dangerous, grim, and deadly if executed incorrectly.

For we were headed, on that nice, lovely Saturday afternoon, to…

The mall.

I craned my head back to look at the wide expanse of glass and concrete that rose up over my head. I could practically feel Rachel's excitement coming off her in waves.

"Woah, girl. Remember why we're here." I considered patting her like an overzealous dog, but decided I liked my wrist and hand connected.

"Yeah, yeah… come on." She marched off to the alleyway between JC Penny's and Belk's. I saw a flash of red as Tobias dived down into the narrow alleyway as well.

"Better keep an eye on those two," I muttered, and followed quickly, managing to look gorgeous at the same time. I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw some brunette give me an approving once over. Aha. I am the master again.

When I entered the alleyway, Rachel had the small black backpack open, and Tobias was settling himself inside it. He looked irritated, more so than usual. He glared at me with his cranky hawk's eyes, feathers all puffed up.

((Who's brilliant idea was this again?)) He grouched, flaring out even more.

"You look a bit like a roosting chicken," I commented.

((I am not a chicken.)) Tobias sounded huffy, but in a dangerous way. ((I eat chickens for breakfast. Anyone who calls me a chicken is asking for it.))

I'd been the victim of one of his well-aimed dive-bombs before. I didn't care to have the experience again, so I merely smiled my handsome-manly-man smile. "As you like it, Sir Extra-Crispy."

Tobias gave me one last totally-uncalled-for violent glare before Rachel very carefully zipped up the backpack. "That alright, Tobias?" She asked in a soft, totally un-Rachel-like voice, shifting the backpack painstakingly slowly to her shoulders. I was beginning to feel like a third wheel here.

((S'fine, Rach. Let's go a-shoppin'!)) Tobias said mock-excitedly.

Rachel's eyes sparkled. "Indeed."

I groaned. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?..."

Allow me to explain the "mission".

Funny how I think of everything as a mission these days.

Anyway.

There was a school dance the next day, being held at the local country club. A formal dance. I wondered exactly where the school came up with the money for something like that. Anyway, in a moment of insanity, we decided we were going to have a bit of fun, since Erek assured us that the Yeerks weren't up to anything at the moment. Inviting Ax was a bit out of the question, considering the last time he was anywhere near a buffet he ate the entire thing, including a paper plate and six napkins before Jake and I got a hold of him. Jake himself had refused the opportunity to go to the dance, because he had "homework" and "hated dancing." Cassie claimed that it was her night to muck all the stalls, and besides didn't have a dress, so therefore would not be attending either. I nodded and smiled at their weak little explanations, but I knew that they wouldn't be spending the evening apart. Conniving little creatures think they're smarter than the Magnificent Marco.

Back to the point.

That left me and Rachel as the only people who thought fun was a good idea. I don't think either of us much relished the thought of an evening alone with each other, so I suggested Tobias morph a human and come along. Rachel snapped that idea up suspiciously fast, and Tobias was suspiciously agreeable. But here we face another problem. I have a dashing black suit that I am quite proud of, because it somehow manages to magnify my attractiveness to the irresistible level. Tobias, however, being a hawk, doesn't have a single outfit, much less a wardrobe to keep it in.

So here we were, at the mall, to find some suitable attire for Bird-Boy.

"Yes." Rachel said in reply, looking at me darkly.

"Feelin' the love, _Rach_," I leered. I paused for a moment, then held out my hands. "Hey, maybe I should carry him. I don't think you should be the one helping him try stuff on…" I winked obviously.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but I was right and she knew it. Grudgingly she removed Tobias from her back and handed him carefully to me.

I petted the bag. "I know you were looking forward to it, Tobias…"

((I will crap on your head.))

I raised my eyebrows. "Okaaaayyy, apparently we _all _need our space today…" I slung him carefully around my shoulders and turned to Rachel, giving her a smart salute. "At your command, ma'am! Lead on!"

"Shut up before I graft your face to this concrete." She growled, and disappeared into the light beyond the alleyway.

No sense of humor whatsoever, I tell you.

_Whee, end of first chapter. I have a chunk of the second chapter written, too... that'llcome in it's own time.Lemme know what you think, I implore you!_


	2. Chapter Two

_Hello again! Wow, that was a very short time between updates… if you are reading, please don't expect them to be this often. I'd already had most of this chapter written when I put up the first one. _

_In response to the reviews…_

_Gpshaw- Thank you! I'm trying not to stray too far from her writing style, but kinda blend it with my own at the same time. Yes, my name is interesting. I made it up awhile ago and it's been my alias since. :D_

_Wottabout- See above. Too much?.. Oo I'll try to embellish it with my own style from now on._

_Elrondtook- I thank you for pointing that out, so I explained it a bit in this chapter._

_LilManiac- Wow! Thank you so much:) You have a lot of stories… oO I'mna hafta take a look at those!_

_Dormouse- Score! I'm shooting for some KA-Applegate-age here._

_Medha- Thanks! Funny, I'm putting up the second chapter the same day you left a review… Less slang? Oo I wasn't aware I used all that much… maybe I did it subconsciously. Sorry!_

**Chapter Two**

"Wow… now I remember why I don't come here." I looked around at the masses of people, shoving past each other, eating pretzels, hanging out, and most horribly of all, shopping. "You realize I deserve a trip to EB Games for tolerating this."

Rachel looked maniacal. "This is my element… Feel fear, department stores. Rachel will find your sales. And _crush_ you beneath her fashionable heel!" She let out the craziest evil laugh I think I've ever heard, thoroughly frightening a passing middle-school kid.

"Don't refer to yourself in the third person anymore, Rachel," I said delicately, rolling my eyes. "You're frightening children."

"Smart kids, then."

((Can we hurry up?)) Tobias said testily. ((I don't want to be in this place any longer than I have to. And this bag smells like Fritos.))

"Sorry, Tobias. We're going."

So that's how I ended up in a dressing room with my arms crossed, bored, on one of those little stools they put in there.

I think they make them uncomfortable on purpose.

Tobias, the lanky, human Tobias stood in front of me, squinting at himself in the mirror. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was half-blind. Well, I suppose, compared to his normal hawk-sight, he was. He had on quite a nice suit, a Lord West creation, I believe. He looked extremely uncomfortable, but I suppose that's normal for someone who spends most of their life in a suit of feathers and nothing else.

"How are you supposed to dance in this much starch?" He asked me, lifting one arm and waving it in a very wing-like manner.

"Uh, not like that." I said, shaking my head. "You _do _know how to dance, don't you?"

Tobias remained silent.

"Aw, man. Well, hopefully no one else will either." I stood up and stretched onto my tip-toes, my back popping. "I suggest you don't flap anymore, though. That wasn't the most graceful thing I've ever seen."

Tobias eyed me, his face blank. Hawk-faces are always scowling, so sometimes he forgets facial expressions. "You know I'm taller than you, right?"

"Only for two hours."

There was suddenly the rattle of plastic and metal against the door, halting whatever Tobias had been about to say. He whipped his head around and focused on it intensely, looking very much like a bird.

"Chill, man." I cracked the door and peered out, my eyes finding Rachel with a large amount of clothing over her arm.

"I'm sorry, madam, peeping is illegal. My client could have you sued for harassment." I said wittily. "You'll have to come back later."

"I will indirectly be responsible for your demise, Marco." She said, eyes flashing. "Did the Lord West work?"

"I think so. The starch is apparently a bit irking, though," I said.

"I can fix that later. Come on outta there, I want to try some stuff on while we're here."

"Oh, of course. I'll get out and leave you two alone…" I grinned devilishly at Rachel. She clenched her unoccupied fist and held it in my face.

"Violence is not the answ-OW!" I was rudely interrupted by what felt like a foot kicking my derriere. I drew back in hastily and rubbed the offended area, looking at Tobias with pained eyes. "Why would you do that to me, Tobias? Your friend? Your comrade? Your fellow male?"

"I'm a chicken, remember?" His face remained blank for a moment, but then he remembered that teasing comments like that were generally accompanied by a smile. His lips spread, but he retained the ever-present distant look.

"Whatever. I'm skedaddling." I slipped out of the dressing room and, in a burst of maturity, stuck my tongue out at Rachel as I passed her. She ignored me utterly and entered the room, closing the door with a slam. "I was _kidding_ about that change-together thing, by the way!" I called before I left the fitting rooms to mingle with the commoners. I knew where I was headed.

Junior's section. IE, girl-central. The trick is to hang around and look like you have better things to do, but you're being nice and coming here with your sister or something. That makes you look cool and considerate at the same time.

In theory.

I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned against the wall, putting on my best sexy-bored expression.

"E-Excuse me?"

I turned to look at the speaker. A blond, with deep brown eyes. Timid-looking. Gorgeous.

Oh yeah. I was rakin' 'em in already.

"Something I can do for you?" I said in a low voice, smiling.

"Er, no." She looked at me strangely. "You're blocking the bathroom door."

"Oh. Oh, sorry." I stood aside instantly. She passed me, casting one last bemused look at me, before the door swung shut.

I slapped myself mentally and paced in front of the door, furious. "Perfect, Marco." I muttered to myself. "Perfect. You are now officially Lord of the Stupidly Pathetic. I'm surprised she didn't laugh right in your face, you dumb- "

"YAAUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHH!"

My naughty words were drowned out by a loud, quite unnerving screech from back in the dressing rooms. Sounded like some human chick. Probably just read a price tag for this insanely expensive department store in which I stood.

"Get out my head, you bloody parasite! I won't let you take me!"

Well.

Needless to say, I forgot very quickly about the blond girl.

Instantly tense, I moved back towards the dressing rooms. I heard the sounds of a struggle. There were a couple other human voices yelling in surprise. Then another familiar noise.

TSEEEEEW!

Dracon beams! I hurried myself up considerably. Heart thundering in my ears, I hesitated beside the dressing room entrance. Should I duck into an empty stall and morph? No. I didn't know what the situation was yet.

What the hell would Yeerks want with the mall? I thought to myself, panicky. They're not all that worried about the latest fashions. I put my calculating mind to work.

Suddenly a human girl dashed past me out of the dressing rooms. She stumbled, falling to the ground. I saw in her side a perfectly circular cut, like someone took a razor sharp spoon and just took a scoop out of her. The beam must have simply grazed her. It was bleeding, but not much. High heat tends to cauterize wounds.

I froze, abruptly panicked. Was this girl a Controller? Crap, she'd seen my face! But, she didn't know I was an "Andalite bandit"…

So I acted human. "Hey, you okay?" I half-crouched and extended my hand, like any decent human being would.

She rolled to face me like I was a predator about to attack her. She looked up at me in terror and defiance of... of what? Something. She fixed fierce, sharp grey eyes on mine. She seemed to read my very thoughts, know what I was thinking as I stared at her. I felt like my brain was like a book to her. Kinda… kinda like a Yeerk. In a very different way.

I knew, looking into her pale eyes, that she was not a Controller.

Then the momentary trance was broken, and she seized my offered hand in a somewhat violent grip. She hauled herself up in one smooth movement, though her pale face grimaced in pain. Her eyes flicked from my face over my shoulder, into the dressing room hall, and then back to my eyes.

"Run," she whispered in a haggard voice. "Run. Don't let them take you. Run."

Without another word, she dragged herself away, ignoring the searing pain she must have been feeling and running.

Running for her freedom.

Wishing quite thoroughly that Jake was here to give orders, I started back into the dressing room. And ran smack into two men on their way out. Two very large, scary, WWF break-you-into-kindling men. With Dracon beams.

Where was Jake when you need to be told what to do?

I plastered on the most innocent, confused human expression I possessed. "Sorry," I said politely, noting that the two men stowed the Dracon beams instantly. I pretended not to notice.

"S'alright." Hulk Hogan grunted. I think all men that large grunt. "Did you see a teenage girl with red hair run out of here? She's… my niece. She's not taken her medicine today… she's mentally unstable without it."

Hm. Mentally unstable. Is that what you call knowing the truth now?

I played the dumb bystander. "Oh, yeah, I saw her." I pointed in the opposite direction the girl had headed. "She ran off that way, babbling."

Hulk glanced at his buddy the Rock. He nodded once, and then smiled—forcedly—at me. "Thank you, son." He shoved past me and ran off in the direction I had pointed, followed by his large pal.

"Not your son," I mumbled irritably to no one.

I threw a glance back into the dressing rooms. Rachel and Tobias were smart kids; they'd get out alright…

And something told me that it was imperative the Yeerks not get that girl.

Stupid mall. Ruining my weekend.

I followed the girl's path. It was kinda obvious; she hadn't done that spiffy a job of hiding it. Knocked stuff over, dripped blood. I wanted to find something funny about this situation, but it's been harder and harder recently to find any humor in the happenings of my life.

To make a long, boring story about how I tracked my prey mercilessly through the department stores short, I'll cut to where I found her.

She'd managed to get outside before she'd collapsed in agony. Maybe she thought she could find a better hiding place. I knew that she would have had a better chance inside, where people could have wondered why exactly two big scary men were trying to catch a screaming, bleeding girl. Here, there were much fewer witnesses.

Thankfully for her, I, Marco the Animorph, was there.

The girl was huddled under some of those pathetic bushes you see outside malls. She was breathing heavily and shaking. Her almost inhumanly pale red hair was spread down over her face. The burn wound looked worse, now. All her movement had caused the blood to flow through it again.

Now that I'd found her, it occurred to me that I didn't know what I was going to _do_ about her. I stood, frozen, staring at her limp form under the bushes.

Most of the time I am a brilliant person. At the moment, I was drawing a blank.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice spoke behind me.

I jumped and whipped around. "Holy baked beans, Erek…" I muttered, though relief flowed through my limbs. "You can't just pop up and _scare_ people."

Erek, who I mentioned earlier, was a kid who went to some school other than mine. Only, not really. Yeah, more extraterrestrials pretending to be what they're not.

Erek is part of an ancient, alien-created race of androids called the Chee that got dropped off on Earth by their dying masters a couple thousand years ago. How's that for a sentence. Like the Yeerks, they live among us, unknown. Unlike the Yeerks, they merely create holograms of people instead of infesting them. A Chee minus the hologram looks like a big silver-and-ivory dog propped up on its hind legs.

See why they use holograms. They might stand out a wee bit.

Long story short, the Chee found us and have joined us in the fight against the Yeerks by being our spies in Yeerk organizations. They can't actually fight, however, due to their anti-violent programming. But that's another long story. And, on a tangent, they are wildly obsessive over dogs.

Erek's holographic face simply smiled. I've wondered before if they have to think about making their hologram smile, or if it's really tied to their emotions.

"And why're you here at the mall, anyway?" I said in a chipper tone, jerking my head subtly towards the girl in the bush. Erek's eyes found her and he nodded slightly in understanding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her flicker and disappear under Erek's hologram.

"A girl from your school invited me to the dance. I needed an outfit. She's one of us," He added softly.

"That's a lie. You can just poof yourself an outfit."

Erek shrugged. "I can still go to the mall and look at which one I want to use in the hologram, can't I?" He said innocently. I felt like there was something there I missed, but I had things to worry about other than cryptic metal doggies.

"Sure. Now, you offered little-ole'-me some assistance a minute ago…" I lowered my voice. "Can you help me get her out of here?"

Erek's answer was plain as he shimmered. His hologram expanded around me and the girl behind the bushes. "Everyone looking at us just sees a couple of teenagers hanging at the mall," He said cheerily though his metal muzzle. He knelt and with his inhuman strength quite easily picked the girl up out of the bushes. She remained limp. Must have passed out somewhere along the way.

"My thanks, Robo-Pooch. I'll get you a puppy for Christmas."

"See that you do," Erek said placidly.

We moved off quickly down the sidewalk, bound for the place we usually take oddities: Cassie's barn. I knew no one could really see us, but I still felt strange. Walking beside an android from another planet, carrying an unconscious girl tied somehow to an alien invasion. I tried to imagine seeing this from a normal person's point of view. It was hard, harder than I thought it would be.

Guess I'm not normal, and never will be.

I looked at the girl again. She was quite assuredly human, but there was something equally inhuman about her. For one, she was…pale. No other way to say it, really. Her skin was almost white, and her hair was more of a silver-red than red. But despite her paleness, she didn't look old. She was a bit lanky. Probably taller than me. She was pretty, but pretty in the way a diamond is pretty—delicate, carefully cut, but hard and cold.

Her eyelids fluttered. I half-held my breath as the silver-grey eyes moved slowly up to reach mine again. They quavered, somehow blank and full of some un-readable emotion at the same time. Once again, the moment was brief, and she lowered her head.

I let out my breath and glanced at Erek. He hadn't noticed her movement, or if he did, he hadn't shown it. Probably the latter, knowing the Chee.

I had a fleeting thought of Tobias and Rachel. I hoped they would know I was alright.

"So much for a simple trip to the mall," I muttered to myself.

Jake is so going to kill me for this.

_End of Kapitel Zwei. (That's chapter two for non-german speakers!) Reviews welcomed with open arms.:) May be awhile before I can update again…_


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